What the heck can a business coach do for me that I can’t do for myself? I mean, I AM a coach myself helping other entrepreneurs grow their businesses, manage stress and position themselves for success.
Well – I can simply say without hesitation that without the MULTIPLE coaches I have worked with over the years, I would not have the expertise, perspective or success I do today. I have invested heavily in my business, writing and wellness many times over the years. I’ve used virtual coaching to learn to build a sales funnel. I’ve worked with business coaches to figure out the evolution of my work to fit my passions and goals. I’ve used more than a few health coaches to help me take charge of my family’s wellness. And I’ve even used a career coach to help me create a resume and cover letter that got me some great results back in the day.
All of the skills I learned from these coaches will serve me for the rest of my life. They were the best investments I could have made at the time for my then present productivity and progress – and an even better investment for the long-term success, strategistic-ness (yes – I made up that word), happiness and security I have gained because of them.
So what can you expect if you decide you need a little (or a lot of) training and are ready to seek out a coach to help you create a game plan for success?
Having worked with and reaped the rewards of multiple coaches, here are five outcomes you should expect from a coach. Be sure you ask prospective coaches about these things because they are all keys to your success.
5 Key Traits of a Great Business Coach
1. Great coaches provide grounding and honest insight into the current state of your business. They don’t sugarcoat what you need or give you lip service about how easy starting a business is.
2. Great coaches allow you to fully explain your goals and dreams for the future BEFORE diving into a plan.
3. Great coaches help you build an actionable, step-by-step framework to get from where you are to where you want to be in a way that fits with YOUR lifestyle and needs.
4. Great coaches shake up your thinking by offering fresh ideas and new perspectives on your work, life and income streams.
5. Great coaches ask you the hard questions, push you to do more, force you out of your comfort zone and generally piss you off much of the time.
A coach isn’t a cheerleader! (Yep – that was an exclamation point.) Coaches aren’t here to give you a rah-rah cheer and make you feel good about yourself all the time. That’s what moms are for so call her if you need your ego stroked. A coach’s job is to fire you up, train you and get you ready for the fierce competition you face out in the world if you want to succeed in your business because there are millions of other entrepreneurs out there fighting to get to the top of their game too. It’s up to you to leverage your strengths and leverage the right coach (or coaches) to get you to the top.
When you are working with a good coach you should have days you feel overwhelmed, scared, frustrated or all of the above. A coach’s job is to inspire greatness from you and greatness hits a high note when it’s born out of hard work not luck or chance. A good coach will put you through drills, exercises, tests so you can handle the pressure and survive the long haul that’s required for a sustainable, fulfilling and lucrative career as an entrepreneur.
If you and your business don’t come out the other side stronger, ready for battle and motivated to kick some ass then that coach hasn’t done the job or you haven’t put in the work.
Have you used a business coach? What did or didn’t you like about the experience?
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